Traction-sled.



No. 808,565. PATENTED DEC. 26, 1905. J. McGILLIS. TRACTION SLED. APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 21. 1905.

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WN NH w w NH wH n 'Jwwmz/ I U Inventor Httomegs Witnesses No. 808,566. PATENTED DEC. 26, 1905. J. MOGILLIS. TRACTION SLED.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 21, 1905.

2 SHEETSSHBET 2.

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Witnesses UNITED STATES PATENT orr on.

TRACTION-SLED.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1905.

Application filed February 21, 1905. Serial No. 246,759.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES MoGrLLrs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chippewa Falls, in the county of Chippewa and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Traction-Sled, of which the followin is a specification.

This invention relates to sleds, and has for its object to provide improved traction means for mechanically propelling the sled, and in this connection to have the sled mounted upon fixed runners and to employ other movable runners, and to impart stepping movements thereto for engagement with a roadbed to propel the sled by the advance movement of the movable runners.

Another object of the invention is to effect the proper elevation of the moving runners when being advanced to a new position upon the road-bed. and to cushion the impact of the movable runners with the road-bed, so as to obviate violent pounding and consequent damage to the moving runners and other parts of the operating mechanism.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and articularly pointed out in the appended c aims, it being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accom anying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of tlie sled-propelling mechanism of the present invention,'the body of the sled being indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a detail longitudinal sectional view taken through the sled-propelling mechanism, showing in full lines one of the moving runners in its depressed active position and in dotted lines another runner in an elevated inactive position. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the sled-propelling mechanism. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view showing in full lines the active position of one of the runners and in dotted lines an elevated position.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in each and every figure of the drawings.

The present sled includes a bed or platform 1, which is supported at its rear end by a pair of fixed runners 2, there being any ordinary or preferred form of bob 3, pivotally mounted upon the front end portion of the under side of the bed or platform and having a hand-wheel 4 or other suitable means for turning the bob to steer the sled. The form of the bob is immaterial to the present invention, and therefore may be varied at will.

The propelling mechanism of the present invention includes a pair of movable runners 5 for each stationary runner, said moving runners being located at each side of the adjacent stationary runner and working in substantial parallelism therewith.

For the support of each pair of runners there is a pair of shafts, (designated 6 and 7,) which are suitably journaled, as at 8 and 9, upon the adjacent stationary runner. The shaft 6 is provided with a crank-bend 10 at the inner side of each stationary runner and aterminal crank 11 at the outer side of said runner, while the shaft 7 is provided with similar cranks12 and 13. Connection is had between each movable runner and each adj acent crank by means of a spring link or bar 14, the forward end of which is fixed to the top of the runner by one or more fastenings 15, from which the spring-link is inclined or bowed upwardly and rearwardly with its upper free end terminating in a loop or eye 16, loosely embracing the adjacent crank, whereby the movable runner is worked back and forth by the movement of the crank. The members of each pair of inner and outer cranks are disposed opposite one another or at one hundred and eighty degrees, whereby when one movable runner is moving forwardly the other is moving rearwardly, and vice versa, wherefore it will be understood that a stepping movement is imparted to the movable runners. For each spring-link 14: there is an upstanding guide member 17, rising from the adjacent movable runner and in the form of an arch straddling the link, so as to prevent lateral strains thereon and also operating to guide the runner in its forward movement. When each movable runner reaches its rearward limit, it is of course elevated and moved forwardly by the action of the cranks; but the Weight of the movable runner tends to sag the springs, and to overcome this sagging of the springs each movable member is provided with a pair of antifriction-rollers 18, mounted upon horizontal axes between the movable runner and the fixed runner, there being inclined tracks or cams 1.9'fixed upon the adjacent side of the stationary runner and in the paths of the forward movements of the respective antifriction-rollers 18, whereby said tracks or cams operate to elevate the movable runner and maintain the same in an elevated position independently of the support of the springs, the latter operating merely to move the runner forwardly when said runner is supported upon the tracks or cams. At the end of the forward movement of the movable runner the rollers of course run off of the cams in order that the moving runners may gravitate into engagement with the roadway, and as said movable runners are forced rearwardly the sled will be pushed forwardly upon its stationary runners. To prevent tilting of the movable runners, other antifriction-rollers 18 are provided upon the outer sides of the runners for engagement with the respective tracks or cams 19 carried by frame members or hangers 28, which depend from upper substantially horizontal frame-bars 29, which are connected at their ends by means of converged braces 30, connected to the sides of the respective end portions of the stationary runner 2. The rollers 18 cooperate with the cams or tracks 19 in the same manner as and simultaneously with the rollers 18 when engaging the tracks 19. In addition to having bearings upon the fixed runners 2 each of the shafts 6 and 7 also has bearings upon the frame-bars-29, as clearly indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawings. It is also proposed to brace each of the spring links or bars 14 by means of a bowed spring 31, having its lower end connected to the top of the movable runner 5, with its upper free end engaging the under side of the link to take some of the strains thereon.

Motion is imparted to the shafts 6 and 7 by means of a motor of any preferred character mounted at any desired point upon the bed or platform. 1, suchamotor being indicated at 20, and provided with a drive-shaft 21, having a gear 22, preferably a sprocket, over which runs an endless sprocket-chain 23, engaging sprockets 24 and 25 upon the shafts 6 and 7. The bed or platform 1 is of course provided with openings 26 and 27 to accommodate the sprocket-chain and the sprockets 24 and 25. When, as indicated in the accompanying drawings, the bed or platform would interfere with the cranks said bed or platform is of course provided with openings to accommodate the cranks.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the propelling or traction mechanism of the present invention is very simple and efiective for the purpose designed and may be mounted upon any ordinary sleigh which includes fixed rear runners and a bob or movable runners for steering the sleigh. By reason of the disposition of the cranks of the two shafts 6 and 7 the movable runners are given a stepping movement, with the adj acent movable runners moving alternately in opposite directions, thereby to engage the road-bed at their forward limits and advance the sled by a pushing movement as the runners are moved rearwardly by the motor. By reason of the springs 14, which connect the moving runners with the cranks, said run-' held against upward yielding when acting upon the roadway to advance the sled.

Having fully described the invention, what is claimed is 1. In a traction-sled, the combination with a frame supported on fixed runners, of a crank-shaft, a movable runner, a springhanger connecting the crank and the movable runner, and means to drive the shaft.

2. In a traction-sled, the combination with a runner-supported frame, of a crank-shaft, means to drive the shaft, a movable runner, a spring-hanger having one end connected to the runner and its opposite end connected to the crank, and a guard member carried by the runner and loosely embracing the hanger.

3. In a traction-sled, the combination with a frame supported on fixed runners, of a movable runner, a crank shaft upon the frame, means to drive the shaft, a springhanger connecting the crank and the movable runner, a guideway, and means upon the movable runner to engage the guideway and support the movable runner in an elevated position when traveling forward.

4. In a traction-sled, the combination with a frame having a fixed runner, of a movable runner working at one side of the fixed runner, means for working the movable runner back and forth, a cam-track carried by the fixed runner, and a guide member carried by the movable runner and working upon the track during the forward movement of the movable runner to elevate the same.

5. In a traction-sled, the combination with a runner-supported frame, of a movable runner, a crank-shaft, means for driving the crank-shaft, a flexible hanger connected to the crank and the runner, a guide member carried by the runner, and a track located in the forward path of the guide member to elevate the movable runner during its forward movement.

6. In a traction-sled, the combinationwith a frame having a pair of fixed runners, a pair IIO of shafts mounted transversely of the frame and provided with cranks respectively located at the inner and outer sides of the individual runners, the members of each pair of cranks being disposed at opposite sides of the adjacent shaft, means for simultaneously rotating the shafts in the same direction, movable runners working back and forth at opposite sides of the respective fixed runners, spring-links having their forward ends connected to the res ective movable runners and inclined upward y and rearwardly therefrom with their upper ends pivotally connected to the adjacent cranks, looped guards carried by the movable runners and loosely embracing the respective spring-links, antifriction guide-rollers carried by the movable runners and located between the latter and the respective fixed runners, and tracks carried upon opposite sides of the fixed runners and located in the paths of the forward movements of the rollers to elevate the movable runners when moving forwardly.

7. In a traction-sled, the combination with a frame supported on fixed runners, of a movable runner, a crank shaft upon the frame, a spring-hanger connecting the movable runner and the crank, a guideway upon the fixed runner, and a guide carried by the movable runner and working upon the upper side of the guideway to support the movable runner in an elevated position when moving forwardly, and running at the under side of the guideway during the rearward movement of the runner to prevent elevation thereof.

8. In a traction-sled, the combination of fixed runners, movable runners working at opposite sides of each fixed runner, means for raising and lowering and at the same time working the movable runners back and forth, guide members carried by opposite sides of the movable runners, tracks carried upon opposite sides of the fixed runners for cooperation with adjacent guides of the movable runners, and other tracks supported at the outer sides of the movable runners in cooperative relation with the adjacent guides.

9. In a traction-sled, the combination with a fixed runner having a substantially horizontal frame extending around the top thereof, of movable runners working at opposite sides of the fixed runner, means to raise and lower and at the same time work the movable runners back and forth, tracks upon opposite sides of the fixed runner, tracks hung from the frame at the outer sides of the movable runners, and guide members carried by opposite sides of the movable runners for engagement with the respective tracks.

7 In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES MoGILLIS.

Witnesses:

J. B. FLEMING, GEO. L. BLUM. 

